10. civil - ijce -kashinath bhaban - shirajom monira khondker - bangladesh

7/27/2019 10. Civil - IJCE -Kashinath Bhaban - Shirajom Monira Khondker - Bangladesh

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KASHINATH BHABAN: A UNIQUE BUILDING OF PANAM NAGAR BEARS TESTIMONY

TO COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN BENGAL

SHIRAJOM MONIRA KHONDKER & MEHNAZ TABASSUM

Lecturer, Department of Architecture, Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

The rich cultural heritage and cultural identity of Bangladesh is vividly expressed and traversed as a symbol of

power, dignity and artistry during the Colonial period. In this research study, the authors selected a unique building of

Panam Nagar, is an old settlement as a part of Sonargaon area of Bangladesh, named Kashinath Bhaban which bears

testimony to the style and design of Colonial architecture in Bengal. It is undoubted that the building Kashinath Bhaban

plays an important role to represent our cultural heritage or our glorious past. This study concentrates on the building

Kashinath Bhaban of Panam which have precious and research worthy documentation or information. The overall research

study conducted here is focused on the demonstration of the buildings plan layout, elevations, sectional details, structure

as well as construction materials, decoration and ornamentation for representing own belief and cultural exclusivity to the

architecture.

KEYWORDS:Colonial Architecture, Panam Nagar, Kashinath Bhaban, Structure, Construction Materials, Decoration &

Ornamentation

INTRODUCTION

In Colonial period the Colonial architecture represents a different character to that era. The British introduced new

elements from the western architecture and merged those elements with the traditional provincial style of the Mughals.

Thereby, a new hybrid style emerged known as the Indo-British or the Colonial style (Mowla and Reza 2000: 31-58). On

the other way, the Colonial architecture meaning a combination style of European and indigenous architecture which is

reflected more in the secular civic buildings than those of the buildings of religious character. The Colonial architecture is

characterized by these structure-types (Hussain, 2007).

An important feature of Colonial architecture in Bengal is the expansive use of various structure- types hitherto

unknown. Though this Colonial architectural style was developed by the British-Raj, the follow up was made by the local

Zamindars and the Kolkata based merchants, known as baniyas (Hussain, 2007). Because of its fanciful and romantic

character the style even persists today in the minds of those who love history and tradition.

In Bengal, one of the most significant examples of Colonial architecture named Panam Nagar, a residential

quarter of Sonargaon, represents the Indo-British architectural style with improvised architectural ornamental features.

They are extraordinary in a sense that nowhere in the whole of Bengal such a large assemblage of residential buildings

exists (Rahman, 2007). Panam Nagar is the ancient city which is a part of Sonargaon area. Sonargaon was the

administrative center of medieval Muslim rulers of East Bengal from early thirteenth century and today the area falls under

Narayanganj district, Bangladesh.

Panam Nagar was established in the late 19th century (Figure 1) as a trading center of cotton fabrics during British

rule. Hindu cloth merchants built their residential houses following Colonial architectural style with inspiration derived

International Journal of Civil

Engineering (IJCE)

ISSN 2278-9987

Vol. 2, Issue 3, July 2013, 97-108

IASET
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu


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98 Shirajom Monira Khondker & Mehnaz Tabassum

from European sources. With respect to location and layout, the Panams buildings are mostly concentrated along the

Panam Street. Panam Street, 5m wide on the average and 600m in length along which most of the old buildings of Panam

Nagar are concentrated, and surrounded by canals (Figure 2).

Presently Panam as a historical property is under the ownership of the Government of Bangladesh. The

Directorate of Archaeology is its custodian. Most of the inhabitants in Panam are unauthorized occupants. They are too

poor to maintain those properties.

(Source:Shaikh,Twenty five Buildings-frozen museumof Panam Nagar-Pub. December 2009)

Figure 1: The Location Map of Panam Nagar in Sonargaon Locality

Panam Nagar locality is highly dense with single to three storied attached and detached houses of varying types

and sizes. The number of the houses which were erected in the Panam area is counted presently at sixty on both the side of

the Panam Street (Figure 2). Among them fifty-two houses in dilapidated and disused condition in the settlement have been

identified. At present 31 houses are surviving on the north side of the road and 21 houses on the south. Exact count of

buildings according to the number of floors cannot be done to poor accessibility and precarious condition of structure.

Among those fifty-two buildings in the Panam Nagar settlement, the building no.-38 and known as Kashinath

Bhaban (Figure 2) is a unique, exclusive and exceptional live monument which bears testimony to the style and design of

Colonial architecture in Bengal. That means this building exemplifies the architectural characteristics of the Colonial era.

Therefore it is needed to represent the proper and actual documentation as well as architectural information with details of

the Kashinath Bhaban not only for its historical value, but also for its unique architectural characteristics.


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Kashinath Bhaban: A Unique Building of Panam NagarBears Testimony to Colonial Architecture in Bengal 99

(Source: Field Study, 2006)

Figure 2: The Existing Master Plan of Panam Nagar Showing the Sixty Buildings and the Building

No.-38, Named Kashinath Bhaban

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the study of this research paper is to explore and represent the unique building Kashinath

Bhaban of Panam Nagar, which belongs to Colonial architecture in Bengal, along with its plan layouts, structure as well

as construction materials, decorations and ornamentation details. The objective also includes finding out the influences and

importance of the structure and construction materials, decorations and ornamentations of that historical building of Panam

Nagar which is an evidence of our glorious past.

METHODOLOGY

To ensure the quality of the research study and compiled proper presentation as well as documentation the authors

conducted a field survey (in 2006) on the selected building no.-38 named Kashinath Bhaban of Panam Nagar, a locality

of historical Sonargaon. This selected unique building Kashinath Bhaban have precious and research worthy structure,

construction materials, decoration and ornamentation details which represent our cultural heritage. Several field visits have

been conducted by the authors (in 2006) to collect or examine the above details. An adequate number of photographs of

that unique building have been taken by the author for the study. Some of these have been presented in this paper. For the

presentation as well as documentation on that building the author has to draw necessary drawings with details regarding the

buildings on the basis of field study (in 2006). Also these drawings with details have been presented in this paper. Some

other sources e.g. books, journal articles, encyclopedias, photographs have been consulted for this study.

THE BUILDING KASHINATH BHABAN

In Panam Nagar locality the building Kashinath Bhaban is numbered as building no.-38. This building is

surviving on the north side of the Panam Street. The facade of this unique live monument is perfectly expressed the desire

for simplicity among ornately decorated work. Some important aspects of this unique building are described bellow with

its structural, construction materials, decoration and ornamentation details.

Building Typology

This is a courtyard type building; where on end of the court is lined with the boundary wall (Figure 3). The

concept of this type building is derived from centering on a courtyard. It means that the building activities and layout are


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arranged around the courtyard. The courtyard (Figure 3) of this building is enclosed, paved and open to sky. And the

courtyard is surrounded by verandah on three sides having arched openings. The surrounding verandah acts as corridor and

gives access to individual rooms. The enclosing walls of the courtyard are extensively delineated with arched openings and

pilasters.


Figure 3: The Courtyard of Kashinath Bhaban

Building Layout

This two storied building is rectangular in shape and elongated in the north-south direction. The depth is greater

than frontage in this house. The width and length of the building facade is approximately 10.7m and 37m respectively

(Figure 8.a,b,c). Facades of this building are axially balanced with flanking five openings at each level (Figure 4).

The floor levels are expressed externally with projected cornice (Figure 5). Parapets followed a uniform design

and heights with vertical slit openings, rounded at the top and bottom (Figure 6). Raised plinth and verandah created the

transitional space between the inner house and the street which creates the entry of the building (Figure 7).


Figure 4: The Front Facade or Street Side View of Kashinath Bhaban

Showing Flanking Five Openings at Each Level


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(Source: Field Study, 2006) (Source: Field Study, 2006).

Figure 5: Projected Cornice Figure 6: Parapet Detailing Figure 7: Raised Plinth and

Expressed Floor Levels in the Roof Verandah Expressed Entry

(Source: Field Study, 2006 & prepared by the authors)

Figure 8: a) Ground Floor Plan, b) First Floor Plan, c) Roof Plan of Kashinath Bhaban

Expressed Building Layout with Building Structural Details

The building facades composition were extraordinary with Colonial architectural details. Here the four side

elevations of the Kashinath Bhaban (according to field study in 2006) are given bellow in figure 09, 10, 11 & 12.


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Figure 9: Front (South) Side Elevation with Detailing of Kashinath Bhaban


Figure 10: Back (North) Side Elevation of Kashinath Bhaban


Figure 11: East Side Elevation of Kashinath Bhaban


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Figure 12: West Side Elevation of Kashinath Bhaban

Building Structure and Construction Materials

The primary construction material was brick, have been modeled in specific shape according to the need of

surface articulation. Here bricks are plastered for facade delineation. The thickness of brick masonry walls vary between 50

to 70 cm (Figure 8.a,b,c) & (Figure 15). Lime mortar has been used primarily for bonding. On the top of upper level

verandah, corrugated sheets were placed sloping down towards the courtyard (Figure 3) & (Figure 15). Plaster decoration

have been extensively applied in facade design and interior decoration (Figure 13). False wooden doors and windows

shaped with plaster were also applied as a common decorative element. Cast iron brackets, ventilators, window grills,

railings, balusters had been extensively used. Ornamentation was made by lime surki and plaster (Figure 13). Decoration

with broken china locally known as chinitikri work has been done in the columns of the front facade (Figure 13).

Decorative colored broken tiles were used on the step riser in front of the entrance verandah (Figure 14).Structural details

will be clear by a section throughinner courtyard and stair case (Figure 15).


Figure 13: Plaster Decoration and Chinitikri Work of the Front Faade


Figure 14: Use of Decorative Colored Broken Tiles on the Step Riser


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Figure 15: SectionAA through the Inner Courtyard and Stair Case

Building Decoration and Ornamentation

The ornamentation of the Kashinath Bhaban as an example of the colonial building of Panam Nagar is unique

through combination of different types of decorative form and motifs from various sources. The ornamentations of this

building are expressed through decorations on plinth and floor projection, door and window openings, pillars and pilasters,

space between the arch and the roof, cornice and parapet, railing, bracket, building edge and ceilings etc. The plinth of this

building is fairly raised from the Panam Street which has neat cement finish (Figure 14). Decorative colored broken tiles

were used on the step riser in front of the entrance verandah or raised plinth (Figure 14). In this building the design of the

entrance formed the focus of the facade composition. The front facade of this building was articulated by round columns

with Corinthian capital in the upper floor (Figure 17) and Corinthian pilaster in the ground floor (Figure 16), semi-circular

arches with pediments and various other decorative elements. The upper floor columns in the exterior facade have

chinitikri decoration consisting of dark color spiral band in a distinct pattern (Figure 17). For the support of the upper floor

verandah roof structure, where corrugated sheets were placed sloping down towards the courtyard, the painted cast iron

columns are used (Figure 18). The pillars, columns and pilasters are all designed with well-defined base, shaft and capital

with tremendous decorative elements (Figure 16, 17 & 18). Corner of the building is emphasized with decorative floral

treatment (Figure 19 & 20).


Figure 16: Corinthian Pilaster (Ground Floor) with Decorative Capital, Shaft & Base


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Figure 17: Round Columns with Corinthian Capital (Upper Floor) with Decorative Capital, Shaft & Base


Figure 18: Use of Painted Cast Iron Figure 19: Corner of the Figure 20: Corner of theColumn in the Upper Floor Verandah Building with Floral Building with Floral

with Decorative Capital, Simple Shaft Decoration Decoration

and Base

Doorways are regular and simple. The windows are designed with semi-circular arches enclosed in a rectangular

or square frame. Closed window, blind arches and shuttered doors create a noticeable tendency to illusionist

representations. Regional floral pattern are used exclusively at the apex of the semi-circular arches to express a local

identity (Figure 21, 22 & 23). The use of cast iron decoration in the arch opening on both floors is derived from English

neoclassical buildings. In this building cast iron brackets, ventilators, window grills, railings, balusters had been

extensively used with excellent floral decoration (Figure 21, 22 & 23). Parapets followed a uniform design and heights

with vertical slit openings, rounded at the top and bottom (Figure 24). True to the style, railings, key-stones, column

capital, base etc. have been thoroughly decorated.


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Figure 21: Architectural Decoration & Ornamentation Details of Kashinath Bhaban


Figure 22: Decorative Arch with Lime Surki& Plaster


Figure 23: Cast Iron Decorative Arch in Doorway


Figure 24: Parapet Details with Vertical Slit Openings, Rounded at the Top and Bottom

Building Present Condition

At present existing interior building condition is good for living after reconstruction of the building. But the

condition of door, window, and ornamentation of exterior facades is gradually destroyed for lack of preservation (Figure

26). Recently the archeology department of government of Bangladesh, as a part of taking an action in preservationprocess, colored this historical building Kashinath Bhaban into Pink color (Figure 25). This has an impact in destroying

the originality of the structural, materials, and architectural ornamentation details gradually, which were the historical and

socio-cultural evidence of our past.


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(Source: Field Study, 2012) (Source: Field Study, 2006)

Figure 25: At Present, Front View Figure 26: Previous Front View

of Kashinath Bhaban of Kashinath Bhaban

CONCLUSIONS

From the aforesaid discussion it is apparent that the colonial architecture developed in Bengal, had an

individuality of its own. As a reflection of Colonial architecture, the unique building named Kashinath Bhaban of the

ancient Panam Nagar settelement is undoubtedly made a profound contribution to the socio-cultural history and heritage of

Bangladesh. This building of Panam with its structure and materials, decoration and ornamentation is unique which make a

strong and glorious image of our past. Presently, this building of Panam Nagar is striving to survive among the face of

contemporary developments, climatic adversaries, misuse and scarcity.

On the above circumstances an authentic representation and documentation on this unique historical buildingnamed Kashinath Bhaban of Panam Nagar is topmost need. In this regard the authors try to represent a research worthy

presentation as well as documentation (based on the field study in 2006) on this unique building of Panam Nagar which

will help the present and future generation to tell our true socio-cultural historical past.

REFERENCES

1. Husain A.B.M., 1997 Sonargaon-Panam: A Survey of Historical Monuments and Sites in Bangladesh , Rashid,M.H. and Chowdhury A.M. (Ed.) published by Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka: 103-133.

2. Rahman S.M. (Ed.), 2007, Archeological Heritage, Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Cultural survey ofBangladesh series-1.

3. Husain A.B.M. (Ed.), 2007, Architecture, Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Cultural survey of Bangladeshseries-2.

4. Shaikh, Z.U. and Rahman M., December 2009, Twenty Five Buildings-Frozen museum of Panam Nagar, Old butNew: New but Old, Architectural Heritage Conservation, Rahman M. (Ed.), published by UNESCO.

5. Shaikh, Z.U., 2006 Adaptive Reuse and Development Guidelines for the Revitalization of Panam Nagar,Unpublished, B.Arch dissertation prepared under the author at Bangladesh University of Engineering and

Technology (BUET), Dhaka.

6. Mowla, Q.A. and Reza, M., 2000, Stylistic Evolution of Architecture in Bangladesh, Journal of the AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh, Vol. 45, No.1: 31-58.


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7. Mowla, Q.A. 2000, Colonial Urban Morphologies: an inquiry into typology and evolution pattern, KhulnaUniversity Studies, Vol.2. no.1: 45-62.

8. Mowla, Q.A., Panam Nagar : Conservation and Management for Posterity, Bangladesh University of Engineeringand Technology (BUET), Dhaka-1000, BANGLADESH.

9. Akhter, S., 2004 Panam Nagar, The Ancient City of Bengal: In Search of Continuity in Tradition, UnpublishedM.Arch thesis at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. The author had been the local supervisor of the thesis, in

Bangladesh.

10. civil - ijce -kashinath bhaban - shirajom monira khondker - bangladesh

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